What if we never needed a single use plastic for a water cup at a fast food joint? Just imagine that impact!

About one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute. That's almost 1.5 billion plastic bottles per day! With 7.7 billion people on Earth and 1.5 billion plastic bottles being purchased every day, imagine the mountains of waste we are creating.

We need to create a sustainable practice and a community to execute it. This is an easy one.

When heading out to the grocery store take a reusable bag or two for your groceries. Smaller reusable bags can also be used for produce or bulk items. The reduction of single use plastics is a mountain we must all climb together.

These bags can be used for all sorts of activities outside of grocery runs. Just imagine the world if no single use plastic bags were used at each grocery store. We can never underestimate the power of our example to others. If everyone in the grocery store were using reusable bags,

Take your bike to do grocery shopping, pick up your kids from school, or bike your daily errands. The reduction in carbon footprint of a quick bike ride compared to a vehicle is enormous.

Carbon emissions for vegetables are 10-50 times less for vegetables than meat. Even an occasional decision for a vegetarian meal will make a difference, and influence others with whom you are dining.

Chicken takes about one quarter the amount of energy to grow one pound of meat in comparison to beef. That's a 75% reduction in carbon footprint with the simple choice of chicken over beef.

Place a recycling bin in your home or office and get those materials normally thrown in a landfill back in circulation. Sustainable communities can share old items through FaceBook marketplace and other avenues to avoid trips to the landfill.

When out for a walk, bring a trash bag and collect some litter. This removes potential hazards for wildlife, sets a great example for others, aside from the other obvious benefits of a cleaner neighborhood and natural world. By picking up litter we are teaching our children by example and building a future sustainable community.

When given the choice, buy from the bulk bin with a reusable bag. This greatly reduces the single use plastic of prepackaged goods. Your dollar has a vote. If you exercise that vote, others will see the example, and stores will respond to demand.

Re-purpose materials from another project to something new. A simple example of this is finding a single use plastic container and reusing it for a storage container. Another more complex example is using old materials for a new building or housing project. Through a google search you can find suppliers in your area that provide second hand materials for building projects.

Several brands including Stasher and Room Essential (Target home brand) are making reusable small bags for small items such as kids' lunches and leftovers. The single use bags are a massive resource of plastic that could be somewhat eliminated.

The foundation of a sustainable community is built on doing small things.

Gone shopping and forgot your reusable bags? After paying, put the the groceries back in your cart and put them in bags in your car or hand carry them into the house directly from the car. A few quick trips will eliminate a lot of single use plastic bags.